Bitpanda crypto exchange has announced the acquisition of crypto custodian Trustology, for an undisclosed figure that will result in Trustology being rebranded to “Bitpanda Custody”.
Vienna-based company Bitpanda is a centralised exchange that was founded in 2014 by Eric Demuth, Paul Klanschek and Christian Trummer. Fintech is one of the fastest growing fintechs in Europe, and with their first acquisition of Trustology, Bitpanda is set to offer an FCA-registered, institutional-grade custody solution.
Joshua Barraclough, the CEO of Bitpanda Pro, noted in a press release:
“Bitpanda Custody is part of our strategy to offer a fully comprehensive set of services to our client base and we can now combine an FCA-registered, institutional-grade custody solution with a leading trade execution venue,”
“This is a great step for us as a company and especially for Bitpanda Pro,” he added. “Recently, we have invested a lot in upgrading Bitpanda Pro exchange as well as boosting our liquidity partnerships, so that we can compete with the largest exchanges on execution capabilities. Now we are looking to massively increase our footprint and bring lots more clients to our venues.”
The crypto platform noted in their announcement that they will be getting rid of custody fees as the result of their recent acquisition, and that Bitpanda will be fully licensed to perform regulated custodian services in the UK, alongside their current EU licensing). Trustology (now Bitpanda Custody) is registered with the UK’s FCA and specialises in DeFi.
Last year Bitpanda raised $263 million in a round of funding that valued the exchange at $4.1 million in August 2021. At the time the exchange stated that it would use the money from the raise to expand into key markets such as France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
As part of their expansion, Bitpanda also announced plans to offer trading in stocks, precious metals and exchange-traded funds through their mobile app. With this acquisition, and their valuation that placed them as the first Vienna fintech to become a unicorn, Bitpanda is rapidly becoming a top global crypto exchange.
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